Since her first psychology class at Archbishop Molloy HighSchool, EricaRodriguez has been passionate about science.

Rodriguez, who is 20 years old, has been since 2007 aMacaulay Honors student at Queens College where she is double-majoring inbiology/neuroscience and psychology and has earned aGrade PointAverage of 3.5 out of a perfect 4.0. She is also part of thecollege’s student athletic advisory committee and captain of itsswim team.

“I am very determined," Rodriguez says. "I guess that isbecause of the way I was raised -- I want to be good at everything."

Erica Rodriguez

Through Macaulay, she receives full tuition and a laptop computer; last summer she also received a scholarship tostudy abroad in Athens,Greece.

Rodriguez is currently working as a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellow (SURF) at Rockefeller University in Manhattan. She was awarded this internship as part of QC’s MARC U-Star program, which supports minority students in biomedical research. At Rockefeller University, Rodriguez works in the laboratory of renowned neurologist Dr. Fernando Nottebohm, assisting his investigation intothe biology of vocal learning and nerve replacement in songbirds.

After graduation next May, Rodriguez plans to pursue adoctorate inneuroscience. Her goal is to become a teacher andresearcher inbiotechnology, a field that uses biological processes tomake medicineand other products such as beer from yeast fermentation.

Born and raised in Kew Gardens, Rodriguez is the daughter of immigrants. Her mother, a native of El Salvador, came to the United States when she was a teenager. Her father was a toddler when he arrived in this country from the Dominican Republic. Today her mother works as a drug rehabilitation counselor,and her father is a salesman for National Grid, the energy delivery company. Rodriguez also has a 14-year-oldsister who just graduated from middle school and will beattending ArchbishopMolloy High School.

"I feel very close to my family," Rodriguez said. "They understand the value of a college education and want the best for me.”

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